*JU 


#<>*ts 


No.  54. 


THE  MIDNIGHT  CR1. 


THE  coming  of  "  the  Son  of  man  *  is  likened  by  onr  Lord 
to  the  sudden  approach  of  l*e  bridegroom  to  the  ten 
virgins,  when  "  at  midnight  there  was  a  cry  made,  Behold> 
the  bridegroom  cometh."  It  will  bo  at  a  time  when  men  look 
not  for  him,  and  in  an  hour  that  they  are  not  aware  of. 

The  cry  will  not  only  reach  the  living,  but  will  awaken  the 
dead  also:  "  All  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  hear  his  voice, 
and  shall  oon?e  forth  5  they  that  have  done  good,  untothe 
resurrection  of  life  ;  and  they  that  have  done  evil,  untoWhe 
resurrection  of  damnation." 

It  will  be'tbe  period  when  the  real  character  of  every  one 
wiW  Ue  disclo-eeL  How  many  now  are  taken  to  be  what  they 
really  are  not  !•  They  have  a  form  of  godliness,  but  are  desti- 
tute of  its  power ;  but  then  shall  be  discerned  the  difference 
*  between  the  righu-ous  and  the  wicked,  between  him  that 
serveth  God  and  him  that  serveth  him  not." 

It  win  be  the  hour  of  final  separation :  "  One  shajl  be  taken, 
and  the  other  left."  Christ  shall  set  the  sheep  on  his  right 
hand,  but  the  goats  on  the  left.  In  that  day  every  one  will 
find  his  own  place,  and  every  one  will  go  to  the  place  for  which 
'lis  character  fU»  him.  The  hypocrite,,  the  man  of  pride,  of 
avarice,  of  pollution,  and  of  falsehood,  are  not  fit  for  heaven. 
One  design  of  the  judgment  of  the  great  day  will  be  to  give 
to  every  one  his  own  proper  place  lor  eternity.  God  'hath 
appointed  a  day,  in  which  he  will  judge  the  jwld  m  nghte- 
ousness  by  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained."  t  And  every 
one  shall  receive  according  to  what  he  hath  done  m  the  body, 
whether  it  has  been  good  or  evil.     '     r    .   .  *  ;.  •      , 

But  while -the  cry,  «  He  cometh,"  will  be  made  at  the  ad- 


2  M  THt    MIDNIGHT    CRT 

vent  of  the  Lord,  the  summons  of  death  to  an  unconverted  * 
man,  is  similar  in  many  respects,  in  its  immediate  results,  to 
those  which  that  cry  will  produce  upon  the  wicked  who  shall 
be  alive  upon  the  earth  when  the  Lord  shall  come,  Surprise, 
confusion,  anxiety,  useless  effort  and  final  exclusion  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord,  will  be  the  effects  in  both  cases.  "  As 
it  was  in  the  days  of  Lot ;  tbey  did  eat,  they  drank,  they 
bought,  they  sold,  they  planted,  they  builded  :  but  the  same 
day  that  Lot  went  out  of  Sodom  it  rained 'fire  and  brimstone 
from  heaven,  and  destroyed  them  all.  Even  thus  shall  it  be  in 
the  day  when  the  Son  of  man  is  revealed." 

Thetime  when  the  cry  is  made  in  the  parable  is  significant, 
It  is  at  midnight,  the    hour   of  forgetftilness  and  sleep,     The 
seriousness  of  an  event  is  often  increased   by  the  time  of  its 
occurrence.  *  Every  one  feels  that  there  are  seasons  which  add 
much  to  the  solemnity  of  circumstances.     The  cry  of  fire  is 
alarming  at  all  times  ;  but  at  midnight  it  thrills  the  soul.     The 
oceap  tempest  is  always  solemn  and  terrible,  when  the  mighty 
billows  are  lifted  up,   and   the   mariners  "  mount  up   to  the 
heaven,  they  go  down  again  to  the  depths ;  their  soul  is  melted 
because  of  trouble  ;"  but  the  cry  of  the  perishing  on  a  sinking 
wreck  at  midnight,  uttered  amidst  the  flashes  of  the  heavens, 
and  the  bellowing. of  the  storm,  is  still  more  terrific  5  the  wild 
scream  of  anguish  seems  then  uttered   with  the  bitterness  of 
despair.     The  chamber  of  the  dying  is  solemn :  the  realities  of 
trie  eternal   world   are  brought  near :  God  is  there :  "  How 
awful  is  this  place  !"  but  to  be  alone   with  the  d^ing  and  the 
dead  at  the  midnight  hour,  throws  a  deeper  awe  over  the  mind3 
and  makes  us  realize  more  vividly  and  intensely  the  fact  of 
our  own  mortality.     Terrible  must  have  been  that  hour  in  the 
land  of  Egypt  when  the  "  Lord  smote  all  the  firstborn  in  the 
land,  from  the  first-born  of  Pharaoh   that  sat  on   the  throne 
tmto  the  first  born  of  the  captive   that   was  in  the  dungeon  j 
and  all  the  first-born  of  cattle      And  Pharaoh  rose  up  in  the 
night,  he,  and  all  his   servants,   and   all    the  Egyptians ;  and 
there  was  a  great  cry  in  Egypt;  for  ihere  was  not  a  house 
where  there  was  not  one  dead."     In  such  an  hour  the  Son  of 
man  will  come;  and' the  alarm   and    terror  that  shall  fill  the 
hearts  of  the  wicked,  "  when  tho  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed 
from  heaven  with  his  mighty  angels,   in  flaming  fire,  taking 
vengeance  on  them  that  know  not  God,  and  that  obey  not  the 
gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  shall  infinitely  exceed  what 
the  Egyptians  felt.     It  is  "  the  judgment  of  the  great  day." 
"The  revelation  of  the  righteous  judgment  of  God;"  and  of 
a  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb."     "  Every  eye  shall  see  him,  and 
they  also  which  pierced  him,  and   all   kindreds  of  the  earth 


THE    MIDNIGHT    CRT. 

shall  wail  because  of  him."  "  Every  one  of  us  shall  give  ac- 
count of  himself  to  God."  Upon  the  account#that  shall  then 
be  rendered,  is  suspended  everlasting  happiness  or  misery. 
How  affecting  will  be  the  situation  of  an  unpardoned  sinner  in 
that  hour  of  judgment !  He  stands  in  the  presence  of  God  the 
Judge  of  all,  without  a  friend  to  help,  without,  an  advocate  to 
plead  his  ctuise,  while  his  own  state  is  to  be  fixed  for  ever! 
His  course  of  folly  and  guilt  is  ended  ;  the  last  prayer  has  been 
offered  on  iiis  behalf,  the  means  of  escape  presented  ;  and  the 
last  earthly  sin  committed  ! 

The  last  sin  ! — Oh!  the  last  sin  of  a  wicked  life  seems  to 
bavo  in  it  a  peculiar  awfulness.  It  completes  the  number  and 
fills  up  the  measure  of  iniquity:  then  hope  is  lost,  and  the  . 
dread  result  of  despair  and  misery  is  reached.  O  sinner!  the 
next  sin  which  you  commit  may  be  that  last  to  you — that  which. 
«hall  complete  the  amount  of  your  iniquity  on  earth,  with 
which  you  will  go  into  the  presence  of  God  ?  You  have  been 
spending  your  life  in  adding  sin  to  sin,  and  filling  up  the  cup 
of  your  iniquity  ;  that  cup  may  now  be  full,  and  thenext  drop 
may  cause  it  to  run  over.  It  will  then  be  to  late,  for  ever  too 
late,  to  seek  forgiveness  and  eternal  life;  Mbr  there  is  no 
work,  nor  device,  nor  kn  wledge,  nor  wisdom,  in  the  grave, 
whither  thou  goest."  Stay  your  hand,  then,  and  turn  your 
steps  from  iniquity.  Seek  pardon  at  once  through  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christy  while  there  is  tiVne.  u  Behold,  "now  is  the  ac- 
cepted time;  behold,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation."  Neglect 
it  not,  lest  the  day  of  the  Lord  should  overtake  you  as  a  thief, 
and  the  midnight  cry  be  heard  by  you,'  when  you  are  entirely 
unprepared  for  it.  In  your  present  state,  if  you  love  not  God, 
and  are  living  in  sin,  were  that  cry  to  be  raised  to  night,  where 
God  is  you  never  could  go;  it  would  be  the  knell  of  your^ 
hope,  and  the  signal  for  your  eternal  exclusion  from  the  king- 
dom of  Jieaven. 

'•Thrmo   holy   gfltefl  for  evor  bar 

Pollution,   iir.,   and    shame  . 
None  shall   ob  at  a  admittance  there 

But  followers   of  the  Lamb." 

The  strong  desire  of  your  heart,  as  an  unrenewed  sinner, 
has  been,  to  get  away  from  God.  The  thought  of  God  has 
been  repulsive  to  you ;  and  this  dislike  to  your  Maker  has 
shown  itself  in  your  neglect  of  prayer,  and  in  the  absence  of 
all  desire  to  please  him.  Where  there  should  .have  been  love 
and  obedience,  there  have  been,  aud  it  may  be  still  are,  enmi- 
ty and  rebellion.  Yet  you  hope  to  go  to  heaven  notwithstand- 
ing; but  heaven  is  full  of  God ;  and  if  you  have  such  a  dislike 


4  THE    MIDNIGHT    CRY. 

to  God  in  this  world,  that  you  had  no  pleasure  in  thinking  of 
him,' or  of  reading  his  word,  or  in  praying  to  him,  how  can  you 
expect  to  bo  happy  in  heaven,  where  the  glorious  holiness  of 
the  Lord  fills  the  place  ?  A  change  of  worlds  will  not  produce 
a  change  of  nature  ;  but  a  change  of  nature  and  of  heart  is 
necessary,  or  you  cannot  be  saved  ;  you  must  have  a  nature 
that  shall  be  like  that  of  the  holy  God,  and  tastes  and  habits 
that  shall  agree  with  the  employments  and  the  society  of 
heaven. 

These  are  to  be  acquired  by  faith  in  Christ.  This  grace  of 
feit.h  is  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  elevates  and  purifies 
the  soul.  !By  it  we  are  justified,  and  made  meet  for  the  inheri- 
tance of  the  saints  in  light;  and  without  faith  it  is  impossible 
to  please  God.  Where  it  exists,  there  will  be  sincere  repent- 
ance on  account  of  sin,  and-an  earnest  desire  to  pleasa  God ;  a 
firm  trust  and  hearty  confidence  in  all  that  God  has  revealed, 
and  promised  ;  and  a  steady  looking  to  Jesus  Christ  alone  for 
acceptance  with  God. 

To  neglect  these  things  now,  with  the  vague  promise  of  at- 
tending to  them  at  some  convenient  season,  shows  a  state  of 
awful  insensibility  to  the  claims  of  God,  and  the  value  of  the 
soul.  But,  alas  !  how  many  during  the  season  of  health  care 
for  none  of  these  things  !  Yet  wilt  the  truth  sometimes  flash 
upon  the  mind,  and  the  feeling  arise  in  the  heart,  that  this  in- 
difference will  not  do  always;  ihat  a  time  will  come  when  it 
must  give  way.  When  the  soul  hears  of  righteousness,  tens- 
perance,  judgment  to  come,  it  trembles  ;  though  it  may  say  to 
conscience,  "  Go  thy  way  for  this  time;  when  I  have  a  conve- 
nient season,  I  will  call  for  thee." 

Reader,  has  it  never  been,  thus  with  you  ?  Have  you  never 
lightly  dismissed,  or  evaded  a  solemn  and  alarming  reflection  ? 
Remember,  it  goes  away  but  to  return  again  with  greater 
power.  In  being  shut  out  of  your  minds,  it  may  be  suppdsed 
to  say.  "We  shall  meet  again!"  The  next  meeting  may 
be  in  your.  dy;ng  chamber,  or  at  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ. 
And.  Oh!  what  "a  meeting  that  will  be,  when  those  serious 
thoughts  and  feelings  which  were  dismissed  on  earth  shall  con- 
front you ;  and  your  conscience,  which  had  been  trifled  with — 
its  voice  drowned,  and  its  warnings  neglected — -shall  be 
thoroughly  awakened  in  you  !  If  you  neglect  them  now,  it 
would  be  better  for  you  in  that  day  if  you  had  never  been 
born ! 

Tl'e  midnight  cry  may  be  heard  when  many  are  not  only 
least  prepared,  but  also  least  disposed  to  attend .  to  it.  "  Trou- 
ble me  not,''  is  the  language  of  their  hearts,  who  not  only 
live,  but  die  in  a  state   of  indifference   to  the  value  of  their 


THE    MIDNIGHT    CRV.  § 

souls.  Thus  it  was  before  the  flood,  and  before  the  cities  of 
the  plain  were  destroyed,  and  thus  it  is  wim  many  at  death, 
and  \  ill  be  with  the  wicked  when  the  Lord  shall  come  to 
judge  T.he  world  in  righteousness.  A  reckless  a.nd  a  guilty  in- 
difference pervades  the  mind  of  many,  which,  disposes  them  to 
say,  -'Where  is  the  promise  of  Lis  coming?  for  since  the 
fathers  fell  asleep,  all  things  continue  as  they  were  from  the 
beginning. of  the  creation." 

In  ofhers,  the  love  of  the  world,  or  the  dcceitfulness  of 
riches,  or  the  lust  of  other  things,  has  destroyed  all  spiritual 
sensibility  ;  the  heart,  hard  and  dead  by  nature,  becomes  by 
sinful  indulgence,  twice  dead  to  all  tfiat  is  holy  and  heavenly  ; 
and  ilie  sinner  dies,  as  the  fool  dieth,  without  any  concern 
about  the  realities  beyond  the  grave,  or  in  hopeless  despair. 

Such  was  the  death  of  the  unhappy  man  mentioned  in  the 
following  account  given  by  a  minister  of  the  gospel. 

"  I  went,''  lie  writes,  "some  years  ago  to  visit  one  who  was 
so  far  gone,  that  his  physician  pronounced  him  to  be,  in  his 
opinion,  beyond  recovery.  On  offering  him  my  hand,  he  shook 
his  Yci.erable  head,  covered  with  the  silvery  hairs  of  age,  and 
said,  with  a  tremulous  voice,  'It  is  to  late  now,  sir!'  I  en- 
dcavoted  to  shake  his  confidence  in  the  impossibility  of  his 
salvation,  by  arguments  drawn  from  the  designs  of  our  Lord's 
mission  and  death,  and  from  his  power  and  willingness  to  save 
the  cl  ief  of  sinners.  He  listened  with  profound  attention  to 
all  I  said,  but  to- every  argument  ho  replied,  '  It  is  too  late 
now,  sir  !  I  have  loved  my  monejT,  and  neglected  my  soul ; 
yes,  sir,  it  is  too  late  H  I  varied  nry  method  of  appeal,  and 
multiplied  my  arguments  of  encouragement,  but  the  monoto- 
nous reply  came  with  still  stronger  force  of  utterance,  'It  is 
too  late  now,  sir  !  I  proposed  praying  with  him  ;  he  objected, 
saying,  '  It  is  too  late  now,  sir  !:  After  a  kind  and  lengthened 
remonstrance  he  consented  :  we  kneeled  together  at  the  throne 
of  grace;  and  when  we  arose  he  said  with  a  look  and  with  an 
accent  I  shall  never  forget,  '  I  r  is  too  late  now,  sir  !'  With 
this  horrifying  sentence  vibrating  in  my  ears,  L  descended  from 
bis  bedroom,  and  walked  away  ;  sighing  as  I  went,  and  occa- 
sionally turning  as  I  passed  onwards  to  look  on  the  dwelling 
in  which  still  lived  a  sinner,  who  could  only  utter  one  sentence, 
and  thst  one  sentence  proclaiming  his  fixed  belief  that  it  was 
'too  late'  for  hi  in  to  hope  for  •  salvation.  He  survived  this 
heart-  rending  interview  only  a  few  hours,  and  then  expired — 

1  Without  one. cheerful  beam    of  hope, 
Or  spark  of  glimmering  day.' " 


G  THE    MIDNIGHT    CRY. 

Reader,  thank  God  with  all  your  heart,  that  it  is  not  yet 
too  late  for  you  to  seek  salvation  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ. 
Seek  it  ndw,  lest  you  should  be  hardened  through  the  deceit- 
fulness  of  sin.  Every  hour  you  neglect  it,  your  heai  t  becomes 
harder  and  harder  ;  and  religion  postponed  generally  ends  in 
the  loss  of  the  soul.  The  dour  is  open  now,  but  soon  it  will 
be  "  shut."  The  language  of  the  Redeemer  now  is,  "  Come  ;"' 
but,  in  the  great  day  of  account,  it  will  be  to  the  impenitent, 
"  I  never  knew  you,  depart  from  me."  As  you  are  at  death, 
so  will  you  be  for  ever.  Your  character,  your  memory  and 
conscience,  will  remain  ^ith  you  in  eternity.  And  if  your 
sius  are  not  pardoned  on  earth,  the  ever-enduring  sentence 
will  be,  "  He  that  is  unjust,  1st  him  be  unjust  still  ;  and  he 
which  is  filthy,  let  him  be  filthy  still." 

Turn  ye  then  to  the  Saviour.  He  waits  to  receive  you  ;  and 
there  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God  over  one 
sinner  that  repenteth.  He  knows  your  heart  arid  your  wan- 
derings. He  has  marked  your  sins ;  not  one  of  them  is  for- 
gotten before  him ;  yet  may  you  look  to  him,  by  repentance 
and  faith,  for  solvation  and  eternal  life:  "The  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  "  Wash  and  be 
clean."  Delay  not,  lest  the  space  given  yoj  for  repentance 
expire,  and  you  perish  in  your  sins.  "  Strive  to  enter  in  at 
the  strait  gate:  for  many,  I  say  unto  you,  will  seek  to  enter 
in  and  shall  not  be  able.  When  once  the  Master  of  the  house 
is  risen  up,  and  hath  shut  to  the  door,  and  ye  begin  to  stand 
without,  and  to  knock  at  the  door,  saying,  Lord,  Lord,  open 
unto  us  ;  and  he  shall  answer  and  say  unto  you,  I  know  you  not 
whence  ye  are :  then  shall  ye  begin  to  say,  We  have  eaten  and 
drunk  in  thy  presence,  and  thou  hast  taught  imour  streets. 
But  he  will  say,  I  tell  you,  I  know  you  not  whence  ye  are ; 
depart  from  me,  all  ye  workers  of  iniquity."  "  Watch,  there- 
fore :" — "  for  in  such  an  hour  as  ye  think  not  the  Son  of  man 
cometh/' 


1  fiOPE  TO  BE  A  CHRISTIAN. 

You  do  ?  Why,  then,  do  you  not  seek  to  be  a  Christian  7 
"Ask,  and  il  shall  be  given  you;  seek,  and  ye  shall  find; 
knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you."  '•  Ye  shall  seek 
me,  and  find  me,  when  ye  search  for  me  with  all  your 
heart." 

Arc  you  seeking  for  God  with  all  your  hearts?  No  man 
ever  yet  escaped  from  the  thraldom  of  sin  and  Satan,  who 
did  riot  eame?tl)T  struggle  to  be  free  ;  no  man  ever  entered 
the  strait  gate  who  did  not  strive  to  accomplish  that  glorious 
end.  Carelessnes  and  inattention  -afford  no  foundation  for  a 
hope  that  you  are  to  become  a  child  of  God. 

You  hope  to  be  a  Christian.  Why,  then,  do  you  not  give 
tip  your  sins,  renounce  the  world  as  your  portion,  and  cheer- 
fully surrender  yourself  to  Him  who  is  the  way,  the  truth, 
and  the  life?  He  is  ready  ancl  willing  to  receive  you.  He 
gave  his  life  a  ransom  for  sinners.  He  freely  gives  his  Spirit  to 
all  who  earnestly  nsk  him  :  he  has  filled  his  revealed  word 
with  invitations  and  encouragements  to  those  who  desire 
his  grace :  he  has  long  been  knocking  at  the  door  of  your 
heart  for  admission.  How  then  can  you  ever  hope  to  be  a 
Christian? 

You  hope  to  be  a  Christian.  When  ?  Not  now.  You  are 
too  busy,  or  have  something  in  view  which  must  first  be  ac- 
complished, or  are  so.  indisposed  to  give  yourself  to  the  workj 
that  this  is  not  felt  to  be  the  "convenient  season."  After  a 
while,  when  you  have  accumulated  a  .fortune,  or  passed  the 
period  when  you  can  partake  in  the  world's  pleasures,  or  when 
there  is  a  revival  of  religion,  or,  at  furthest,  on  a  dying  bed, 
you  hope  to  be  a  Christian.  But  God's  commands  and  pro- 
mises are  for  the  present.  He  gives  no  encouragement  to 
wait  for  a  future  season.  You  have  no  assurance  that  there 
shall  be  any  season  beyond  the  pre-ent.  Before  the  expected 
time  comes  you  may  be  in  eternity. 

You  hope  to  be  a  Christian.  So  multitudes  of  others  like 
yourself,  who  were  living  in  sin,  have  hoped;  but  where  are 
they  now?  Long  ago  have  they  been  cot  down  as  cumberers 
of  the  ground.  *  Their  day  of  grace  and  day  of  life  have 
closed.  They  lived  without  Christ,  and  they  died  without 
him:  they  trifled  away  their  precious  time  on  earth,  in  the 
delusive  hope  that  some  day  or  other  they  would  be  Chris- 
tians. That  day  never  came  to  them,  and  never  will  come. 
"  The  harvest  is  past,  the  summer  is  ended  ;"  and  they  are 
not  saved. 

CD. 


THfc    MIDMGKT    CRY 
H  Y  M  N  , 


STOP,  poor  sinners,  stop  and  think* 
Before  you  further  go  ; 
"Will  you  sport  upon  the  brink 

Of  everlasting  woe  ? 
On  the  verge  of  ruin  stop — 

Now  the  friendly  warning  take — 
Stay  your  footsteps: — ere  you  drop 
Into  the  burning  lake. 

Say,  have  you  an  arm  like  God, 

That  you  his  will  oppose  ? 
Fear  ye  not  that  iron  rod 

With  which  he  breaks  his  foes? 
Can  you  stand  in  tlfat  dread  day, 

Which  his  justice  shall  proclaim, 
When  the  earth  shall  melt  away 

Like  wax  before  the  flame  ? 

Ghastly  death  will  quickly  come, 

And  drag  you  to  his  bar ; 
Then  to  hear  your  awful  doom, 

Will  fill  you  with  despair ! 
All  your  sins  will  round  you  crowd  ; 

You  shall  mark  their  crimson  dye ; 
Each  for  vengeance  crying  loud, 

And  what  can  you  reply? 

Though  your  heart  were  made  of  steel. 

Your  forehead  lined  with  brass; 
God  at  length  will  make  you  feel, 

He  will  not  let  you  pass; 
Sinners  then  in  vain  will  call, 

Those  who  now  despise  his  grace, 
"Kocks  and  mountains  on  us  fall, 

And  hide  us  from. his  facer" 


RICHMOND,        V  A  : 
PRESBYTEJRIAN    COMMITTEE   OF     PUBLICATION, 


Hollinger  Corp. 
pHB.5 


